During my week-long hiatus, I ruminated over this writing journey and all that it encompasses. I got to thinking about my goals and what I can do to accomplish them.
My lifetime writing ambitions:
1. To learn the craft so each story is better than the last
2. To write stories that leave an imprint on my readers’ hearts
3. To get published through a traditional publishing house
4. To honor and glorify God with my words
What will help me accomplish these ambitions?
Hands down, writing novels. A close second, reading craft books, going to conferences, getting and giving critiques….
Does blogging help me accomplish these ambitions?
Yes and No. Yes, because blogging forces me to reflect on my journey and monitor my progress. Yes, because blogging brought me to some very inspirational and informative blogs and fellow writers who have enlightened my path. No, because it can be a major time-vacuum.
So if blogging sometimes gets in the way of writing novels, why bother?
Writing can be a solitary, discouraging endeavor. Blogging has led me to a wonderful community of writers. It’s allowed me to celebrate and garner hope from those who are ahead in the writing journey, and it’s allowed me to offer encouragement to those who are behind. It’s a place to share celebrations and concerns with a group of people who truly understand how frustrating and exhilarating this path can be.
My grand epiphany:
While I value blogging, it can very easily take precedence over things it was never meant to take precedence over. Especially if I’m not paying attention. Blogging needs to keep it’s proper place in my life. It’s not more important than my quiet time with God. It’s not more important than my husband or my son. It’s not more important that my stories. This isn’t a very grand epiphany, is it? In fact, it’s rather DUH. Sometimes lessons tend to be that way for me.
Thanks for letting me share.
Questions to Ponder: How do you feel about blogging? How important is it to you at this point in your writing career? Why do you do it?
Wonderful post Katie! You're so right about blogging. I do it mostly because I love it, not because I'm trying to network, but I think after I sell a book it'll take a bigger precedence as business rather than pleasure.
But I need to work on putting it in its rightful place. Since it's pleasure, I indulge a little too much. *cringe*
Hope you have an awesome day and thanks for the post!
Loved reading all the comments today! Seems we all have similar thoughts on blogging! Good to know I'm not alone in my struggle to bring balance to my life.
Sleep tight everyone!
Katie
While blogging is fun, and I do love the sense of writerly friendship, I agree with you. It's not my top priority. It's up there, but not before family, cooking, my job, God, or my own writing. Great insights.
Timely post for me Katie. I wondered with NaNo is I should take a break, but I prayed about it and decided that my posts would be short and sweet- to the point.
I have had to ask myself some of these same questions, and I realized that it was starting to take priority of over my novel writing. Big no-no. Now I have a similar plan to T.Anne.
Thanks for your insight, looking forward to what information you can impart next. Happy writing!
It's interesting how like minded many of us are when it comes to recognizing the need to prioritize. I'm using NaNoWriMo to bash out a rough draft of a new novel and I visited one of the NaNo forums this morning. One post had me laughing, because the writer was bemoaning that the first day of NaNoWriMo had come and gone and she hadn't had time to write a single word, plus she had badly failed a Math exam yesterday for lack of studying time. (I think she reported her mark as 21%.) But she'd had time to write several lengthy posts on the forum. Now that's what I call a DUH situation–a little more obvious than what some of us are doing, but a reminder just the same.
Right now I'm limiting the blogs I visit daily to a select handful. Like T. Anne, I'm writing my blog posts in batches and during busy times scheduling them to appear automatically. That reduces my online time to occasionally checking and responding to comments and email, and updating my NaNo wordcount. Prioritizing reminds me that I have to exercise some self-discipline or I'll never reach my goals. (And, Katie, yours are excellent goals!)
No doubt, blogging is a major time kill. I wish it required less attention but i'm getting better at managing my blogging time. I try and keep post's at a reasonable length, write out all posts in advance on Sunday *shhh our little secret* and respond to comments early in the morning, then hit the dashboard. I try not to blog on Tues and Thurs unless I have a blog tour I'm participating in. That's about it =)
I definitely agree with what you said. I feel committed to blogging in a way I'm not committed to my stories or my family sometimes and I hate that feeling. I am also someone who really believes in being consistent and it makes me want to stick to a schedule on my blog. This, unfortunately, requires me to write even when I don't necessarily feel like it, or when I could be spending time with family or with writing, two things that are a bigger priority. Always trying to find that balance but I am starting to realize that it's no always about juggling priorities, it often about following what God's placed in my heart.
Thanks for the post today, it's really helped me to put some things into perspective.
so with you. that's why i've been largely absent from blogging lately. too much going on personally, not to mention trying to write!
jeannie
The Character Therapist
Just seconds before I clicked onto your post, I was discussing this matter with my husband. I read two hours on these posts every MWF and sometimes feel guilty when done. I would love to have more followers but feel I would be struggling to devote the appropriate time to each. I never want to feel that this is a chore or something I have to get done. That's when you know you have a problem.
You know, today's post was a writing lesson. 🙂
I love writing my blog, and reading the comments, and commenting back…and I love reading other people's blogs an commenting.
That being said, I'm thinking I need a new approach to reading blogs and commenting because it's becoming a challenge to visit all the blogs I want to in the time I have allowed.
Yup, I'll think about that after I finish reading my blogs today. 🙂
I totally agree. Blogging is a time-vaccum and has taken away so much writing time from me. Working full time and running a houseful of people puts a dent in my time anyway. I blog to connect and be encouraged, but I am so new on this journey, I really need to focus on the craft. Great post…I retweeted! 🙂
Katie, thanks for sharing your epiphany and it is a grand one! 🙂 I've officially started to blog this week, so I'm hoping to control how much time and attention I devote to it. I'm planning to preschedule posts in advance, so hopefully that will help!
I agree, Katie! Blogging is a lot of fun and very important, but it is so time consuming. Finding a place for it is important–and then being disciplined enough to keep it there. I know there are times I say I won't check mine but then I have a few minutes, so I get on the computer, log on, and there goes another half hour. It's important not to let the vaccuum take control!
Great post, Katie! I think we all are struggling to maintain blogging connections. I know I am. With new deadlines looming ahead, I know that I can't keep up with reading blogs the same anymore. But I hope I can still maintain friendships somehow!
It is very easy to let blog writing take priority over novel writing because the audience is RIGHT THERE! First, I feel an obligation to put out something for people to read, since they might be expecting it, second, it's great to get instant feedback in the form of a comment, whereas I have at least 57,000 more words to write before my next novel gets shared with anyone…
But I do love the community, and I'm so thrilled to have imaginary internet friends who are struggling like me, who "get it."
Katie, so great to hear you talk some more. I missed you.
I know what you mean about blogging being a time-vaccuum. I need to keep it in check to.
I had no idea you were Erica's crit buddy too. How lucky are you two guys! What a wonderful combo. Are you also a crit buddy to Betsy and Georgiana, too, then. Man, now that would be one awesome group!!!
I blog to keep me in the practice of writing something other than my WIP. I also do it to maintain and make connections with other writers, something that originally felt like stumbling upon the Holy Grail. "I didn't know there were others out there who were as passionate about this as me…"
Discipline has been my remedy to keep blogging in its place. I'm the parent here. 😀 Sometimes I simply need to tell blogging and all such things related to "Go to your room!"
Thanks for authentically sharing what we all struggle with, a healthy balance and focus where we want it most, God, family, our WIP, and then all that follows.
~ Wendy
I'm feeling quite indifferent toward blogging these days. I take so much time just trying to decide what to blog about and then I don't have enough time to blog. And reading all the blogs and I haven't really been writing. But that will change this month.
Great Post Katie!
Now that I'm working, I need to be even more diligent about my writing time. I plan to still post but I had aleady cut down to a few a week or as needed. I read still but will do it when I can . Make the writing goals and do them first, then the other:)
Vacuum…could not have put it better myself. I realize the importance of blogging (support, staying "up" on what's out there, building a platform) but so often it becomes MORE than that. Thank you for sharing your perspective, and for giving me a better perspective as well! I think that you will accomplish ALL of your goals, Katie!
Totally agree with this! It's something I have total issues with. I'm SO SO SO glad I cut down to 3 posts a week vs 5.
And for the next two months, I'm preplanning on Wednesday posts with author interviews and book giveaways, so I can write those now and not worry about them, so that is helping too.
But really, it's reading other people's blog that is my downfall. Everyone writes such great stuff, and I LOVE to visit, but UGH. I seriously can spend an hour every morning doing it and still not visit them all, and by that time, my morning God time is used up and I feel horribly guilty.
I'm working on setting a limit every morning… but then I miss some of my favorite ones, which totally stinks. But my priorities have been out of whack for a while, and I'm determine to get the kinks out of them!
No problem, Heather! I read Jody's post and was thinking the same thing. We gotta keep those priorities straight!
I love your analogy with the mustard seed today, Heather. It was a beautiful post.
You and Jody seem to be on the same wavelength today. She's talking about platform, and you are talking about blogging (some could argue are close to the same topics), but the point is both of your posts are very timely for what I've been thinking about lately. I agree with you. Blogging has provided some amazing benefits, but unpublished writers (like me) need to priortize and make sure blogging hasn't been placed higher on the list of priorities if our heart's desire is to be a published author. Very timely post for me. Thanks for the reinforcement today, Katie.